Update: P&G officially unveils smartphone-enabled toothbrush

CINCINNATI — Following buzz that Procter & Gamble revealed last week during a conference in Barcelona a smartphone-enabled toothbrush, the manufacturer has officially unveiled details of the new interactive electronic toothbrush.

According to P&G, the toothbrush connects via Bluetooth 4.0 technology to the Oral-B App to provide real-time guidance while you brush, and it records brushing activity as data that you can chart on your own and share with your dentist to create smarter, more personalized brushing routines.

Furthermore, pre-tests of the app have shown that when connected, brushing time increases from less than 60 seconds with a manual toothbrush to two minutes and 16 seconds with an electric toothbrush, surpassing the dental professional-recommended two-minute per session.

The Bluetooth 4.0 technology will be available in a variety of Oral-B electric toothbrushes, including the new sophisticated and elegant Oral-B SmartSeries.

Pressure sensor: Signals and decelerates the speed when the user is brushing too hard; and

Travel accessories: Protects the brush and charger during travel.

The new Oral-B interactive electric toothbrush with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and the Oral-B App will be available in limited quantities in Germany this spring, with global rollouts — including the SmartSeries — launching in June. The new Oral-B App will be available in iOS in May and in Android in August.

Not Your Mother’s hair care to add retail locations, SKUs for 2014

TAMPA, Fla. — Not Your Mother’s hair care is starting off the year with a bang as it adds more than 10,000 new U.S. retail locations and nearly doubles its SKU count for 2014.

The brand has expanded from approximately 15,000 U.S. retail locations to more than 25,000 in the first quarter of 2014.

As part of its expansion, the brand has inked new retail distributions deal with Kmart, Safeway, Kroger and Harmon. Kmart is bringing the brand to 1,100 of their stores, Safeway to 1,314 stores, Kroger to 800 stores and Harmon to 200 stores.

Eleven new styling products — as well as shampoos, conditioners and treatment products — were introduced to retailers for the 2014 lineup, making it a total of 26 products, not counting travel size items. A shampoo and conditioner matching the Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray are two of the new items — along with a thickening styling product, cream styling mousse, an extreme hold hair gel and the first product in the line — to be marketed to both men and women, a fiber glaze cream.

Avon Brazil looks to sell select Coty fragrances in Brazil

NEW YORK — Coty and Avon inked a deal under which Avon Brazil will market and sell select Coty fragrances and its ancillaries through Avon’s 1.5 million independent sales representatives in Brazil.

Although the details are still being finalized, the intent is for Avon to carry a collection of Coty’s celebrity and lifestyle fragrances in the Avon Brochure in Brazil, the companies said in a joint statement.

The arrangement is subject to final documentation, which the companies plan to complete over the next few months.

RELATED NEWS

Colgate wants to help consumers change and improve the way they brush their teeth by launching a new electric toothbrush with artificial intelligence that will provide users with feedback on teeth brushing.
The Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush E1 with Artificial Intelligence works with Apple's ResearchKit to crowdsource toothbrushing data for better and faster innovation, the company said. Designed with the help of dentists, the brush features real-time sensors and AI algorithms to detect brushing effectiveness in 16 zones of the mouth.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens will be introducing the first implementations of its new store format later this spring, or in early summer, executives said Monday night at the 36th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The new format will mark the first major overhaul of the core Walgreens format since the finalization of its merger with Alliance Boots in December 2014.

Revlon has named actress Gal Gadot as their latest global brand ambassador. The "Wonder Woman" star will appear in the beauty company’s Live Boldly campaign, which is designed to inspire women to express themselves with passion, optimism, strength and style, the New York City-based company said.

Goddess Garden Organics recently augmented sensory health and wellness merchandising assortments with a line of wearable aromatherapy accessories and essential-oil roll-on perfumes.
“Aromatherapy’s popularity is quickly becoming mainstream, and the benefits of pure essential oils are undeniable,” stated Nova Covington, CEO Goddess Garden, which operates out of Boulder, Colo. “Our new line lets people enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy on-the-go, with the added bonus of mood-enhancing stones.”

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